The Good Karma Chronicle

With just under a month remaining until Silicon Valley Gives, the first-ever “giving day” in our region, more than 500 local charities have registered to participate in the May 6 fundraising event. Silicon Valley Community Foundation has already raised $2.8 million to fund matching gifts and prizes for the nonprofit organizations.

“This event will raise awareness of – and money for – the many terrific organizations working to make our communities stronger," said Emmett Carson, CEO and president of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Silicon Valley Gives (SVGives), hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) with lead sponsorship from Microsoft, aims to raise millions in charitable donations for nonprofit organizations in San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito counties during 24 hours of online giving. To gain attention from potential donors – who can support their favorite charities with contributions starting at just $10 – SVCF will host events at local Microsoft retail stores, several Whole Foods markets and other locations on May 6. We are also excited to announce that PayPal will add a 1% match to each donation paid with PayPal on SVGives Day, up to a maximum of $50,000. Donations will be collected online at http://www.svgives.org.“Enthusiasm about SVGives is running high in the local nonprofit community, and for good reason,” said Emmett Carson, CEO and president of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. “This event will raise awareness of – and money for – the many terrific organizations working to make our communities stronger, and along the way we are helping nonprofits strengthen their own capacity to attract donors and build for the future.”With support from Microsoft, the Sobrato Family Foundation and sponsorship by Applied Materials, SVCF has hosted nearly two dozen training sessions for nonprofit organizations since last fall, with topics ranging from using social media to engage donors to storytelling strategies to help inform the public about their work in the community. These sessions are designed both to help charities maximize their potential donations and to help them build capacity for future fundraising, marketing and communications efforts.“SVGives is an opportunity for us to make a significant, targeted impact on the organizations doing critical philanthropic work in our community,” said Dan’l Lewin, Corporate Vice President of Technology and Civic Engagement at Microsoft. “SVGives is an innovative and engaging way for organizations to tap into the vast resources of Silicon Valley in an effort to better the lives of its citizens.”With fewer than 30 days left until SVGives, SVCF and its sponsors are preparing for several day-of events that will attract attention from donors and spur online giving.On May 6, SVGives volunteers will be onsite at the Microsoft retail stores at Westfield Valley Fair and the Stanford Shopping Center. Volunteers will also be present at Santana Row and at several Whole Foods markets in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Media sponsor KFOX (98.5FM and 102.1FM) will broadcast live from Whole Foods in Palo Alto. In addition, SVCF is building momentum for the day among donors with a print and digital advertising campaign across the region.In addition to Microsoft and Whole Foods, SVGives is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Sobrato Family Foundation, Gordon Russell and Bettina McAdoo, Maxygen, Kaiser Permanente, NVIDIA, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and many other generous companies and foundations. For a complete list of sponsors, click here. Media sponsors are KFOX, NBC Bay Area, the San Jose Mercury News, South Valley Newspapers and Telemundo 48.For more information about Silicon Valley Gives, visit http://www.svgives.orgFor more information about Good Karma Bikes, visit http://www.goodkarmabikes.org